Its funding is gone – despite receiving Arts Council money for 21 years it never succeeded in becoming a "regularly funded organisation", and so isn't in the new round of applications – and it is likely to close down on 1 April, though they will try to keep the website live for longer.

Animate began in 1990 as an Arts Council/Channel 4 project, and was restructured in its present form in 2007 after the sudden death of one of its founders, the award-winning animator Dick Arnall. The artist David Shrigley said:

"Animate succeeded by Animate Projects has consistently facilitated cutting edge animation in the UK. This work has been widely celebrated throughout the world and has made the UK a focal point for animated filmmaking. The loss of this vital organisation will mean that animation in the UK will suffer hugely as a result."